Acute and chronic neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases are among the leading causes of death, disability, and economic expense in the world. Presently, Alzheimer's disease is the fourth leading cause of death in the USA. Today there is no known cure for this chronic degenerative ailment, which directly affects millions of people throughout the world. Other diseases and disorders of the central nervous system also result in substantial suffering and cost for those afflicted by the ailments as well as their families and providers.
Numerous drugs exist in the market today to treat the symptoms or manage the progression of these diseases, but most have modest or limited efficacy. Frequently, polypharmacy is employed to optimize therapy to the specific needs of patients at different stages of the disease. One of the key challenges in treating these disorders is the high degree of interplay amongst the pathways that control both normal and abnormal neuronal functions. The therapeutic management of these functions is typically determined such that the therapeutic effects are maximized while minimizing the debilitating side effects of the therapies. This effort is usually more complex when multiple therapeutics are employed.
Improved therapeutics for treatment of these diseases and disorders are needed.